JP2012251756A - Refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a refrigerator in which frost attached to a cooler can be efficiently removed while reducing power consumption for a defrosting heater.SOLUTION: The cooler 1 is partitioned into two longitudinal parts, a front side defrosting pipe heater 31 and a back side defrosting pipe heater 33 are provided correspondingly to the respective partitions, energization to the two defrosting heaters 31, 33 is separately controlled by an energization control means, and an energization duration extension control means controls the energization control means so that energization is extended to the front side defrosting pipe heater 31 provided corresponding to a front side part as a part adjacent to a return air cooling opening of the cooler 1, in the two parts.

Description

  Embodiments of the present invention relate to a refrigerator.

  In the refrigerator, frost adheres to the cooler for cooling the storage object. However, when the frost adheres to the cooler, the cooling capacity of the cooler decreases. Therefore, it is important to remove the frost adhering to such a cooler in order to improve the performance of the refrigerator. In order to remove such frost, a heater for defrosting is provided in the cooler. The frost adhering to the cooler is melted and defrosted with a heater for defrosting.

  As the defrosting heater, for example, a long pipe heater or a glass tube heater composed of a sheathed heater in which a heater wire is enclosed in a metal pipe is used. The glass tube heater is indirectly heated with respect to the cooler.

JP 2007-163064 A JP 2002-267331 A

  Conventionally, only one defrosting heater for removing frost adhering to the cooler is provided for one cooler, and the entire cooler is heated by the one defrosting heater. The frost attached to the cooler is removed. Therefore, in the case where the cooler is defrosted by this one defrosting heater, the part where the frost melts quickly and the defrosting is completed early and the part where the frost does not melt easily and the defrosting is late However, in the past, energization of the heater for defrosting is performed until the frost in the part where defrosting is late is removed and the entire cooler is completely defrosted. Until the frost in the part where the completion is late is completely removed, the part where the defrosting is completed early is continuously conducted unnecessarily, resulting in unnecessary power consumption and being uneconomical. In addition, there is a problem that the cooler is heated more than necessary, which is inefficient.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above, and an object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator capable of efficiently removing frost attached to a cooler while reducing power consumption for a defrosting heater. is there.

  The refrigerator according to claim 1, a cooler that circulates cold air in the storage chamber to cool the stored items in the storage chamber, a return cold air opening that circulates the cool air from the storage chamber to the cooler, and the return cold air. A plurality of defrosting heaters which are provided in the cooler and are divided corresponding to the positions of the opening for removing frost attached to the cooler, and energization to the plurality of defrosting heaters is applied to the return cold air opening. The gist of the invention is to have energization control means for individually controlling energization to the defrosting heater provided in the adjacent cooler.

It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the refrigerator concerning the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the cooler used for the refrigerator shown in FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the cooler used for the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the cooler used for the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a timing diagram which shows the effect | action of the cooler used for 3rd Embodiment shown in FIG. It is a timing diagram which shows another effect | action of the cooler used for 3rd Embodiment shown in FIG.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention (hereinafter referred to as embodiments) will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a refrigerator according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment, a freezer room will be described as an example among storage rooms including a refrigerator room, a vegetable room, an ice making room, and a freezer.

  The refrigerator shown in the figure is provided with a cooler 1 in a cooling chamber on the back side (back side) of a freezing chamber 3 provided at the lowermost part, and a fan 5 is provided directly above the cooler 1. ing. And the cold air cooled with the cooler 1 is sent in the freezer compartment 3 with the fan 5, and the inside of the freezer compartment 3 is cooled.

  Further, the cold air that has circulated and returned from the freezer compartment 3 after cooling the inside of the freezer compartment 3, that is, the return cold air, returns from the rear portion of the freezer compartment 3 to the cooling compartment as indicated by an arrow 201 in FIG. The refrigerant is recirculated through the cooling chamber, and is then cooled again by the cooler 1 and further fed into the freezing chamber 3 by the fan 5. This return cold air opening may be a return port for the cold air from the freezing chamber 3 provided in the cooling chamber. In particular, even if a hole is formed as the opening, a clearance-like opening with the freezing chamber 3 is provided. It does not matter.

  FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a cooler 1 used in the refrigerator shown in FIG. In this cooler 1, a long cooling pipe 11 made of an aluminum material is fitted with a plurality of cooling fins 13 made of a thin piece of strip-like aluminum material at predetermined intervals, and a plurality of cooling fins 13 are meandered to overlap each other. As a result, the outer shape is formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape, and the end plates 15 made of a slightly thick aluminum material are disposed at the U-shaped bent portions of the cooling pipe 11 at both ends of the cooling fins 13 so as to maintain the shape. It is configured. In addition, the cooling fin 11 and the end plate 15 which are provided so that the cooling pipe 11 may be fitted are formed with a long opening 13a, and the cooling pipe 11 is inserted into the opening 13a.

  On the front side (front side in FIG. 2) of the cooler 1 configured as described above, a long front-side defrosting pipe heater 31 made of a sheathed heater in which a heater wire is sealed inside a metal pipe is provided in the cooler 1. It is provided in parallel while meandering corresponding to the front side.

  Similarly, on the rear side of the cooler 1 (the back side in FIG. 2), a long rear defrosting pipe heater 33 composed of a sheathed heater in which a heater wire is enclosed in a metal pipe is also provided in the cooler 1. Corresponding to the rear side, they are provided in parallel while meandering. The rear defrosting pipe heater 33 is the rear side of the cooler 1, and only a part of the rear defrosting pipe heater 33 is visible in FIG. 2, but the rear side of the cooler 1 is the same as the front defrosting pipe heater 31. It is provided in parallel while meandering.

  In the present embodiment, as described above, a plurality (two in the present embodiment) of defrosting heaters (hereinafter, defrosting heaters) including the front-side defrosting pipe heater 31 and the rear-side defrosting pipe heater 33. Pipe heaters are generically referred to as simply defrosting heaters), each of a plurality of parts in the front-rear direction of one cooler 1 (in this embodiment, two parts on the front and rear sides of the cooler 1). And an energization control means including an energization early control means (not shown), an energization length extension control means, and an energization end delay control means (not shown) for separately controlling energization of each defrosting heater. And the electricity supply with respect to each defrosting heaters 31 and 33 can be individually controlled by this electricity supply control means.

  That is, the energization control means capable of separately controlling the energization of the defrosting heaters 31 and 33 energizes only one of the defrosting heaters, and the cooler corresponding to the one defrosting heater. Only one part is heated, or only the other defrosting heater is energized to heat only the part of the cooler 1 corresponding to the other defrosting heater, or both defrosting heaters Are simultaneously energized to heat both portions of the cooler 1 corresponding to both defrosting heaters simultaneously, or to one defrosting heater first to energize one of these defrosting heaters. The portion of the cooler 1 corresponding to the frost heater is first heated, and then the other defrost heater is energized, and the portion of the cooler 1 corresponding to the other defrost heater is turned on. Heated later, or in this case, the other defrosting heater The energization is terminated prior to energization of one defrosting heater, or both defrosting heaters are energized simultaneously, and both of the coolers 1 corresponding to both defrosting heaters are energized. Various controls can be performed in accordance with the frosting state in the cooler 1 such that, after the portions are heated at the same time, energization of one defrosting heater is terminated before the other defrosting heater. ing.

  Further, as described above, when the return cold air from the freezer compartment 3 after cooling the freezer compartment 3 is discharged from the rear part of the freezer compartment 3 and the return cold air passes through the cooler 1 and is cooled again, For example, as shown by an arrow 301 in FIG. 2, the return cold air enters the cooler 1 from the front side of the cooler 1, enters the cooler 1, and then rises in the cooler 1 by the fan 5. In the case of being cooled while moving, the return cold air from the freezer compartment 3 has entered the cooler 1 from the front side of the cooler 1 because the temperature rises somewhat and contains a large amount of moisture. In this case, since the frost formation on the front side of the cooler 1 becomes large, it is important to completely remove the large amount of frost formation on the front side of the cooler 1.

  For this reason, in this embodiment, in the above case, the front defrosting pipe heater 31, that is, the position close to the return cold air opening of the cooler 1 or the position where the return cold air from the return cold air opening hits. The energization of the front defrosting pipe heater 31 provided corresponding to the front side is performed earlier than the rear defrosting pipe heater 33 by the energization early control means, or the energization of the front defrosting pipe heater 31 is performed. Even if energization is performed longer than the rear defrosting pipe heater 33 by the energization length extension control means, or both the front defrosting pipe heater 31 and the rear defrosting pipe heater 33 are energized simultaneously, The energization to the side defrosting pipe heater 33 is terminated early, and the energization to the front defrosting pipe heater 31 is delayed by the energization end delay control means to further increase the length. The energization end delay control means, energization so as to completely perform defrosting on the front side, which is a portion close to the return cool air opening of the cooler 1 by continuing the defrosting, and completely defrosting the entire cooler. The energization control means is controlled by early control means, energization length extension control means, energization stop control means, and the like.

  Thus, by making it possible to individually control energization for the defrosting heater, defrosting of the cooler 1 can be performed efficiently and economically. That is, as described above, a great amount of frost is generated on the front side of the cooler 1 where the return cold air enters, and it takes time to remove this frost. Therefore, defrosting on the rear side of the cooler 1 is performed in a relatively short time. Therefore, power consumption can be reduced by making the energization to the rear side of the cooler 1 shorter than the front side.

  FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the cooler 10 used in the second embodiment of the present invention. Similarly to the cooler 1 of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the cooler 10 shown in FIG. 2 is provided on the rear side of the freezer compartment 3 of the refrigerator as shown in FIG. A fan 5 is provided on the top.

  In FIG. 3, the cooler 10 of this embodiment replaces the two defrosting heaters including the front-side defrosting pipe heater 31 and the rear-side defrosting pipe heater 33 shown in FIG. The cooling fin 13 of the cooler 10 includes four defrosting heaters including a pipe heater 41a, a right front defrosting pipe heater 43a, a left rear defrosting pipe heater 41b, and a right rear defrosting pipe heater 43b. Are different in that they are provided in parallel while meandering corresponding to the left and right of the front side (front side in FIG. 3) and the left and right sides of the rear side (back side in FIG. 3). The same components are denoted by the same reference numerals.

  That is, the left front defrosting pipe heater 41 a is provided in parallel while meandering corresponding to the left side of the front side of the cooling fin 13 of the cooler 10, and the right front defrosting pipe heater 43 a is provided for cooling the cooler 10. The left rear defrosting pipe heater 41b is provided in parallel while meandering corresponding to the right side of the front side of the fin 13, and the left rear defrosting pipe heater 41b is parallel and meandering corresponding to the left side of the rear side of the cooling fin 13 of the cooler 10. The right rear defrosting pipe heater 43b is provided in parallel while meandering corresponding to the right side of the rear side of the cooling fin 13 of the cooler 10. In addition, although the left rear defrosting pipe heater 41b is the rear side of the cooler 10 in FIG. 3 and is only partially visible, the rear side of the cooler 10 is the same as the left front defrosting pipe heater 41a. The right rear defrosting pipe heater 43b is also located behind the cooler 10 in FIG. 3 and cannot be seen, but the right front defrosting pipe heater 43b is not visible. Like 43a, it is provided while meandering to the right on the rear side of the cooler 10.

  In the present embodiment, as described above, the left front defrosting pipe heater 41a, the left rear defrosting pipe heater 41b, the right front defrosting pipe heater 43a, and the right rear defrosting pipe heater 43b are included. A plurality of (in this embodiment, four) defrosting heaters 41a, 41b, 43a, 43b (hereinafter, defrosting pipe heaters are collectively referred to as simply “defrosting heaters”) are cooled by one unit. Corresponding to each of a plurality of left and right portions on the front and rear sides of the cooler 10, that is, a plurality of portions in the left-right direction of the cooler (in this embodiment, two portions, a left portion and a right portion). In addition, an energization control means (not shown) is provided for individually controlling energization of each defrosting heater provided corresponding to each part. And this electricity supply control means can control electricity supply to each defrost heater 41a, 41b, 43a, 43b separately.

  That is, before and after the defrosting heater 41a, 41b, 43a, 43b, the left front defrosting pipe heater 41a and the left rear defrosting pipe heater 41b among the four defrosting heaters 41a, 41b, 43a, 43b can be controlled separately. The left two defrosting heaters 41a and 41b (hereinafter, the two left defrosting heaters 41a and 41b are collectively referred to as the left defrosting heater 41) are energized, Only the left part of the cooler 10 corresponding to the left defrosting heater 41 is heated, or conversely, the right and left two parts including the right front defrosting pipe heater 43a and the right rear defrosting pipe heater 43b. Only the two defrosting heaters 43a and 43b (hereinafter, the right two defrosting heaters 43a and 43b are collectively referred to as the right defrosting heater 43) are energized, and this right defrosting heater is used. Hi Only the right part of the cooler 10 corresponding to the heater 43 is heated, or one of the left defrosting heater 41 and the right defrosting heater 43 is energized first, The portion of the cooler 10 corresponding to the one defrosting heater is first heated, and then the other defrosting heater is energized, and the cooler corresponding to the other defrosting heater. 10 parts are heated later, or in this case, the energization of the other defrosting heater is terminated before the energization of one of the defrosting heaters, or the left defrosting heater 41 and the right side defrosting. Both the defrosting heaters of the frost heater 43 are energized at the same time, and both parts of the cooler 10 corresponding to both the defrosting heaters are heated at the same time. Energize the other defrost heater Various control such as ends earlier has become possible depending on frost conditions in cooler 10 also.

  In addition, when the return cold air from the freezer compartment 3 after cooling the freezer compartment 3 is discharged from the rear part of the freezer compartment 3 and this return cold air is cooled again through the cooler 10, the return cold air is, for example, As shown by an arrow 401 in FIG. 3, the cooler 10 enters the cooler 10 from the left side of the cooler 10, enters the cooler 10, and then cools while moving up in the cooler 10 by the fan 5. In this case, since the return cold air from the freezer compartment 3 is slightly heated and contains a large amount of moisture, when entering the cooler 10 from the left of the cooler 10, Since the frost formation on the left side of the cooler 10 becomes large, it is important to completely remove the large amount of frost formation on the left side of the cooler 10.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, in the above case, the left defrosting heater 41, that is, the left defrosting heater provided corresponding to the left side that is a part close to the return cold air opening of the cooler 10. The energization to 41 is performed earlier than the right defrosting heater 43 by the energization early control means, the energization to the left defrosting heater 41 is performed longer than the right defrosting heater 43 by the energization length extension control means, or Even if energization of both the left defrosting heater 41 and the right defrosting heater 43 is performed simultaneously, the energization of the right defrosting heater 43 is quickly terminated and the energization of the left defrosting heater 41 is energized end delay control. If the defrosting is completely performed on the left side, which is a portion close to the return cold air opening of the cooler 10, by delaying the time by means and continuing for a longer time, etc. To the power distribution end delay control means so as to completely defrosted for the entire condenser, energization early control means controls the energization control means such as by energizing extender control means.

  Thus, by making it possible to individually control energization for the defrosting heater, the defrosting of the cooler 10 can be performed efficiently and economically. That is, a great amount of frost is generated on the left side of the cooler 10 where the return cold air enters, and it takes time to remove this frost, but the frost on the right side of the cooler 10 is relatively small. Therefore, the defrosting on the right side of the cooler 10 is performed in a relatively short time with a small amount of power consumption. Therefore, the power consumption can be reduced by making the energization to the right defrosting heater 43 on the right side of the cooler 10 shorter than the left defrosting heater 41 on the left side.

  FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a cooler 100 used in the third embodiment of the present invention. The cooler 100 shown in the figure is also provided on the rear side of the freezer compartment 3 of the refrigerator as shown in FIG. 1 in the same manner as the coolers 1 and 10 of the first and second embodiments shown in FIGS. The fan 5 is provided directly above the cooler 100.

  In FIG. 4, the cooler 10 of the present embodiment includes two defrosters including the front defrosting pipe heater 31 and the rear defrosting pipe heater 33 of the cooler 1 of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 2. Instead of the heater for defrosting, four defrosting pipes comprising a lower front defrosting pipe heater 51a, a lower rear defrosting pipe heater 51b, an upper front defrosting pipe heater 53a, and an upper rear defrosting pipe heater 53b. The difference is that the heaters are provided in parallel while meandering corresponding to the upper and lower sides of the front side (front side in FIG. 4) and the rear side (back side in FIG. 4) of the cooling fin 13 of the cooler 100, respectively. Other configurations and operations are the same, and the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals.

  That is, the lower front defrosting pipe heater 51 a is provided in parallel while meandering correspondingly to the lower front side of the cooling fin 13 of the cooler 100, and the lower rear defrosting pipe heater 51 b is provided in the cooler 100. The upper front defrosting pipe heater 53a is meandering corresponding to the upper side of the front side of the cooling fin 13 of the cooler 100 while meandering corresponding to the lower side of the rear side of the cooling fin 13. The upper rear side defrosting pipe heater 53b is provided in parallel while meandering corresponding to the upper side of the rear side of the cooling fin 13 of the cooler 100. Note that the lower rear defrosting pipe heater 51b and the upper rear defrosting pipe heater 53b are the rear side of the cooler 10 in FIG. Like the heater 51a and the upper front defrosting pipe heater 53a, they are provided in parallel while meandering up and down on the rear side of the cooler 10.

  In the present embodiment, as described above, the lower front defrosting pipe heater 51a, the lower rear defrosting pipe heater 51b, the upper front defrosting pipe heater 53a, and the upper rear defrosting pipe heater 53b are included. A plurality of (in the present embodiment, four) defrosting heaters 51a, 51b, 53a, 53b (hereinafter, defrosting pipe heaters are collectively referred to simply as defrosting heaters) are cooled by one unit. A plurality of upper and lower portions on the front side and the rear side of the vessel 100, that is, a plurality of portions in the vertical direction of the cooler (in this embodiment, two portions, a lower portion and an upper portion) are provided. In addition, energization control means (not shown) is provided for separately controlling energization to each defrosting heater provided corresponding to each part. The energization control means can control the energization of the defrosting heaters 51a, 51b, 53a, and 53b separately.

  That is, by the energization control means that can be controlled separately, of the four defrosting heaters 51a, 51b, 53a, 53b, before and after the lower front defrosting pipe heater 51a and the lower rear defrosting pipe heater 51b. Only the two lower defrosting heaters 51a and 51b (hereinafter, the lower two defrosting heaters 51a and 51b are collectively referred to as the lower defrosting heater 51) are energized. Thus, only the lower part of the cooler 100 corresponding to the lower defrosting heater 51 is heated, or conversely, the upper front defrosting pipe heater 53a and the upper rear defrosting pipe heater 53b. Energize only the upper and lower defrosting heaters 53a and 53b (hereinafter, the upper two defrosting heaters 53a and 53b are also collectively referred to as the upper defrosting heater 53), For this upper defrost Only the upper part of the cooler 100 corresponding to the heater 53 is heated, or one of the lower defrosting heater 51 and the upper defrosting heater 53 is energized first. The portion of the cooler 100 corresponding to the one defrosting heater is first heated, and then the other defrosting heater is energized to correspond to the other defrosting heater. The part of the cooler 100 is heated later, or in this case, the energization of the other defrosting heater is ended before the energization of the one defrosting heater, or the lower defrosting heater 51 The defrosting heaters of both the upper and lower defrosting heaters 53 are energized at the same time, and both portions of the cooler 100 corresponding to both of the defrosting heaters are heated simultaneously, and then one defrosting is performed. De-frosting the other heater Various control such as to end before the heater is enabled depending on the frosting condition of the cooler 100.

  Moreover, when the return cold air from the freezer compartment 3 after cooling the freezer compartment 3 is discharged from the rear part of the freezer compartment 3 and this return cold air is cooled again through the cooler 100, the return cold air is, for example, 4, as indicated by an arrow 501, the cooler 100 enters the cooler 100 from the lower side, and after entering the cooler 100, the cooler 100 is cooled while being moved up by the fan 5. In this case, since the return cold air from the freezer compartment 3 is slightly heated and contains a large amount of moisture, when it enters the cooler 100 from below the cooler 100, Since the frost formation on the lower side of the cooler 100 becomes large, it is important to completely remove the large amount of frost formation on the lower side of the cooler 100.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, in the above case, the lower side defrosting heater 51, that is, the lower side removal provided corresponding to the lower side that is a portion close to the return cold air opening of the cooler 100. The energization to the frost heater 51 is performed earlier than the upper defrosting heater 53 by the energization early control means, or the energization to the lower defrosting heater 51 is made longer than the upper defrosting heater 53 by the energization length extension control means. Even if power is supplied to both the lower defrosting heater 51 and the upper defrosting heater 53 at the same time, the power supply to the upper defrosting heater 53 is quickly terminated and the lower defrosting heater 51 is turned off. The defrosting is completely performed on the lower side of the cooler 100 in the vicinity of the return cold air opening by, for example, delaying the energization by the energization end delay control means and continuing the energization further. Both the power distribution end delay control means so as to completely defrosted for the entire condenser, energization early control means controls the energization control means such as by energizing extender control means.

  Thus, by making it possible to individually control energization for the defrosting heater, the defrosting of the cooler 100 can be performed efficiently and economically. That is, a great amount of frost is generated on the lower side of the cooler 100 where the return cold air enters, and it takes time to remove this frost, but the frost on the upper side of the cooler 100 is relatively small. Therefore, the defrosting on the upper side of the cooler 1 is performed in a relatively short time with less power consumption. Therefore, the power consumption can be reduced by making the energization to the upper defrosting heater 53 on the upper side of the cooler 100 shorter than the lower defrosting heater 51 on the lower side.

  Next, the operation of the above-described third embodiment will be described with reference to timing charts shown in FIGS. In this description, an upper temperature sensor that detects the temperature of the upper part of the cooler 100 and a lower temperature sensor that detects the temperature of the lower part of the cooler 100 are provided. The temperatures of the upper part and the lower part of the cooler detected by the lower temperature sensor are also shown in FIGS.

  First, referring to FIG. 5, after energizing the lower defrosting heater 51 and the upper defrosting heater 53 at the same time, only the energization of the upper defrosting heater 53 is finished early, and then the lower defrosting is performed. An operation when the energization to the frost heater 51 is terminated will be described.

  In FIG. 5, the temperature change of the upper part and the lower part of the cooler 100 detected by the upper temperature sensor and the lower temperature sensor is shown as a temperature change curve at the top of the figure, and this temperature change curve. On the other hand, the heater off temperature is indicated by a dotted line. Below that, the on / off timing of the upper defrosting heater 53 and the lower defrosting heater 51 is shown.

  First, as shown in FIG. 5, both the lower defrosting heater 51 and the upper defrosting heater 53 are energized at time t11, and when the heater is turned on, the lower defrosting heater 51 cools the heater. The defrosting of the lower part of the cooler is started, and the defrosting of the upper part of the cooler is started by the upper defrosting heater 53, thereby increasing the temperature of both the upper part and the lower part of the cooler. This temperature is detected by the upper temperature sensor and the lower temperature sensor, respectively, and as shown in the figure, the temperature of both the upper part and the lower part of the cooler starts to rise, but the temperature of the upper part is more The temperature of the lower part is higher than that of the lower part defrosting heater 51.

  When defrosting of both the upper part and the lower part of the cooler is started by the lower defrosting heater 51 and the upper defrosting heater 53, and the temperatures of both the upper part and the lower part of the cooler are also increased. The temperature of the upper part of the cooler detected by the upper temperature sensor exceeds the heater-off temperature indicated by the dotted line at time t12, but energization of the upper defrosting heater 53 is continued for a little longer, and then the upper temperature at time t13. The energization to the defrosting heater 53 is stopped, and the upper defrosting heater 53 is turned off. Here, the frost formation in the upper part of the cooler is eliminated, and the defrosting of the upper part of the cooler is completed. Even when the upper defrosting heater 53 is turned off, the rise in the temperature of the upper portion detected by the upper temperature sensor further continues for a while due to the influence of the lower defrosting heater 51, and then starts to descend from time t15. To do.

  On the other hand, the temperature of the lower part of the cooler defrosted by the lower defrosting heater 51 exceeds the heater off temperature indicated by the dotted line at time t14, but the energization of the lower defrosting heater 51 is further performed. It continues for a long time, and at time t16, energization to the lower defrosting heater 51 is stopped, and the lower defrosting heater 51 is turned off. Here, frost formation in the lower part of the cooler is completely eliminated, and defrosting on the lower part of the cooler is completed. Even when the lower defrosting heater 51 is turned off, the temperature of the lower part detected by the lower temperature sensor continues to rise further a little, and then starts to decrease from time t7.

  As described above, the end of energization of the upper defrosting heater 53 is made earlier than the end of energization of the lower defrosting heater 51, so that the frost formation is applied to the upper part of the cooler with less frost formation. Can be reliably removed with short energization, power consumption can be reduced, economy can be achieved, and the lower part of the cooler with much frost formation is energized to ensure frost formation. Can be removed.

  Next, referring to FIG. 6, after energizing the lower defrosting heater 51 first, energizing the upper defrosting heater 53, and then stopping energizing the lower defrosting heater 51. The operation in the case where the energization to the upper defrosting heater 53 is finished soon and the energization to the lower defrosting heater 51 is then finished will be described.

  Also in FIG. 6, as in FIG. 5, the temperature change of the upper part and the lower part of the cooler 100 detected by the upper temperature sensor and the lower temperature sensor is shown as a temperature change curve at the top of the figure. The heater off temperature is indicated by a dotted line with respect to this temperature change curve. Below that, the on / off timing of the upper defrosting heater 53 and the lower defrosting heater 51 is shown.

  First, as shown in FIG. 6, when only the lower defrosting heater 51 is energized at time t21 and the heater is turned on, the lower defrosting heater 51 defrosts the lower part of the cooler. Starts, thereby raising the temperature of the lower part of the cooler, as indicated by the lower temperature sensor. Further, at this time, it is indicated by the upper temperature sensor that the temperature of the lower part rises slightly due to the influence of the lower defrosting heater 51 due to the temperature rise of the lower part.

  After energization of the lower defrosting heater 51 is started, the upper defrosting heater 53 is also energized at time t22 after a short delay, and the heater is turned on from this point. The upper temperature sensor indicates that frost starts and the temperature of the upper part of the cooler indicated by the upper temperature sensor increases.

  Although the temperature of the upper part of the cooler detected by the upper temperature sensor exceeds the heater off temperature indicated by the dotted line at time t23, the energization of the upper defrosting heater 53 is continued for a little longer, and then the upper temperature is removed at time t24. The energization to the frost heater 53 is stopped, and the upper defrost heater 53 is turned off. Here, the frost formation in the upper part of the cooler is eliminated, and the defrosting of the upper part of the cooler is completed. Even if the upper defrosting heater 53 is turned off, the temperature of the upper part detected by the upper temperature sensor continues to rise slightly further, and then starts to decrease from time t26.

  On the other hand, the temperature of the lower part of the cooler defrosted by the lower defrosting heater 51 exceeds the heater-off temperature indicated by the dotted line at time t25, but energization of the lower defrosting heater 51 is further performed. The power supply to the lower defrosting heater 51 is stopped at time t7, and the lower defrosting heater 51 is turned off. Here, frost formation in the lower part of the cooler is completely eliminated, and defrosting on the lower part of the cooler is completed. Even when the lower defrosting heater 51 is turned off, the temperature of the lower portion detected by the lower temperature sensor continues to rise further a little, and then starts to decrease from time t8.

  As described above, the lower defrosting heater 51 is energized earlier than the upper defrosting heater 53, and the upper defrosting heater 53 is energized later, and after this energization, the upper defrosting heater 53 is energized. By making the end of energization to be earlier than the end of energization to the lower defrosting heater 51, the frost formation can be reliably removed with a short energization even in the upper part of the cooler with little frost formation. Reduction can be achieved and economics can be achieved, and frosting can be reliably removed by energizing the lower portion of the cooler with much frost formation.

  In the above description, the upper temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the upper part of the cooler 100 and the lower temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the lower part of the cooler 100 are provided. It is also possible to provide temperature sensors corresponding to a plurality of different parts of the cooler, and to detect temperatures at a plurality of different parts of the cooler by using these temperature sensors. And based on the temperature of the several site | part of the cooler detected with this temperature sensor, it is also possible to control ON / OFF of each defrosting heater provided corresponding to each site | part as in each embodiment mentioned above. Thus, defrosting can be performed efficiently and reliably by using the temperature sensor in this way.

 Each defrosting heater is composed of a long pipe heater composed of a sheathed heater in which a heater wire is enclosed in a metal pipe as described above, and its size and length can be freely changed by the pipe, By making the pipe long, a large defrosting heater can be easily formed, and conversely, a small defrosting heater can be easily formed.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, as described above, the cooler is divided into a plurality of different parts in the vertical direction, the horizontal direction, the front-rear direction, and the like, and a plurality of defrosting heaters are provided corresponding to the plurality of parts. However, in this case, the size of the plurality of defrosting heaters can be formed so as to differ depending on the size and position of the return cold air opening of the return cold air described above.

  For example, when the inlet of the return cold air to the cooler is large, the size of the defrosting heater provided corresponding to the large inlet or the defrosting heater corresponding to the large inlet is increased. If the inlet of the return cold air is deviated from the position, the position of the defrosting heater is shifted, that is, deviated according to the direction of deviation. It is also possible to provide it.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the control is performed by increasing / decreasing the energization time. However, it is only necessary to be able to control the heating of the heater. In the present embodiment, the cooler on the back side of the freezing room has been described. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the cooler provided on the back side of the storage room or the vegetable room can be similarly applied. .

  Although several embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented by way of example and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. These embodiments and modifications thereof are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are included in the invention described in the claims and the equivalents thereof.

1, 10, 100 cooler
3 Freezer compartment 5 Fan 11 Refrigerant pipe 13 Cooling fin 13a Open hole 15 End plate 31 Front defrost pipe heater 33 Rear defrost pipe heater 41 Left defrost heater 41a Left front defrost pipe heater 41b Left rear Defrost pipe heater 43 Right defrost heater 43a Right front defrost pipe heater 43b Right rear defrost pipe heater 51 Lower defrost heater 51a Lower front defrost pipe heater 51b Lower rear defrost Pipe heater 53 Upper defrost heater 53a Upper front defrost pipe heater 53b Upper rear defrost pipe heater

Claims (8)

A cooler for circulating cold air in the storage chamber to cool the stored items in the storage chamber;
A return cool air opening for circulating cool air from the storage chamber to the cooler;
A plurality of defrosting heaters that are provided in the cooler and that are divided in correspondence with the positions of the return cold air openings to remove frost attached to the cooler;
And a power supply control means for individually controlling power supply to the defrosting heater provided in a cooler close to the return cold air opening. . A cooler for cooling the cool air when the cool air is circulated in the storage chamber to cool the stored items in the storage chamber;
An opening for return cold air that circulates cold air from the storage chamber from the lower side of the cooler;
A plurality of defrosting heaters that are provided in the cooler and divided in the vertical direction corresponding to the position of the return cold air opening, respectively, and remove frost attached to the cooler,
A power supply control means for individually controlling the power supply to the plurality of defrosting heaters so as to make the power supply time to the lower defrosting heater close to the return cold air opening longer. . A cooler for cooling the cool air when the cool air is circulated in the storage chamber to cool the stored items in the storage chamber;
An opening for return cold air that circulates cold air from the storage chamber from one side in the left-right direction of the cooler;
A plurality of defrosting heaters, which are provided in the cooler and divided in the left-right direction corresponding to the position of the return cold air opening, respectively, and remove frost attached to the cooler,
A refrigerator comprising: an energization control unit that individually controls energization of the plurality of defrosting heaters such that energization time for the defrosting heater on the side close to the return cold air opening is made longer. A cooler for cooling the cool air when the cool air is circulated in the storage chamber to cool the stored items in the storage chamber;
A return cool air opening for circulating cool air from the storage chamber from one side in the front-rear direction of the cooler;
A plurality of defrosting heaters that are provided in the cooler and are respectively removed in the front-rear direction corresponding to the position of the return cold air opening to remove frost attached to the cooler,
A refrigerator comprising: an energization control unit that individually controls energization of the plurality of defrosting heaters such that energization time for the defrosting heater on the side close to the return cold air opening is made longer.   5. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a plurality of temperature sensors provided in the cooler corresponding to the plurality of defrosting heaters so as to detect the temperature of the cooler. 6. refrigerator.   When the temperature detected by the temperature sensor falls below a predetermined temperature, the apparatus has an energization stop control means for stopping energization of the defrosting heater provided corresponding to the portion where the temperature is detected by the temperature sensor. 6. The refrigerator according to claim 5, wherein   The energization length extension control means which lengthens the energization time with respect to the defrost heater provided corresponding to the site | part close | similar to the return cold air opening of the said cooler is characterized by the above-mentioned. Refrigerator.   The refrigerator according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the plurality of defrosting heaters have different sizes according to the position or size of the return cold air opening.

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